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Trump asked Zelensky to stop attacks on Russian refineries

Former US president cited concerns over global diesel shortages and rising prices, according to reports.

AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made

Published
Flame and smoke is seen rising from Moscow's oil refinery in the south east of the city following a largescale Ukrainian drone attack, Sunday

What this story says

  • Donald Trump called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday to ask him to stop attacks on Russian oil refineries.
  • Trump cited concerns that the strikes are worsening global diesel shortages and increasing prices, according to the Financial Times.
  • The International Energy Agency estimates Russia has approximately 6.5 million barrels per day of refining capacity.
  • Global seaborne diesel/gasoil exports averaged 4.7 million barrels per day in the first eight months of 2026, a 10% decrease year-on-year.

Who covered it

Left 0%(0)Centre 33%(2)Right 67%(4)

Percentages are shares of the 6 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 10 of the 16 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .

Trust

47/100

Craft

85/100

Hype

15/100

16 sources · methodology

Thin on the left so far

None of the 6 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.

This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.

Donald Trump contacted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday to urge him to halt drone and missile strikes on Russian oil refineries. The Financial Times reported the call, citing sources familiar with the conversation. Trump expressed concerns that these attacks are exacerbating global diesel shortages and driving up prices.

A senior Ukrainian official on the call told the Financial Times that Trump's message was focused on "diesel, diesel... diesel." Another official stated that Trump wanted Russian fuel to continue flowing to the global market to help lower prices. The International Energy Agency estimates Russia has about 6.5 million barrels per day of refining capacity. Global seaborne diesel and gasoil exports averaged 4.7 million barrels per day in the first eight months of 2026, down 10% year-on-year.

Disagreement on Trump's stated reasons

The Financial Times reported that Trump's motivation was to ensure Russian oil reached global markets to alleviate rising prices. However, the Daily Mail reported Trump stated on Truth Social that Russia had "lost control" of its diesel industry after Ukrainian attacks and called for an end to the war, claiming 25,000 people were being killed monthly.

What the coverage left out

None of the centre- or right-rated reports mentioned the International Energy Agency's figure for Russia's refining capacity or the specific year-on-year decrease in global seaborne diesel/gasoil exports.

Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 3 times, most recently on 21 Sept 2026, 14:00, and will add the sides that appear.

How each side covered it

Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.

Left

0 rated outlets

No outlet rated left has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.

Centre

2 rated outlets

  • The centre-rated reports led with Donald Trump's call to Volodymyr Zelensky to halt attacks on Russian refineries. Both the Daily Mail and Live Mint highlighted the Financial Times' reporting on the conversation, including the specific phrase "diesel, diesel... diesel" used by Trump. Live Mint also detailed the US concern about the knock-on effect of reduced Russian refined petroleum products on the global market, particularly diesel, and mentioned the scale of Ukrainian drone attacks.

Right

4 rated outlets

  • The right-rated reports focused on Donald Trump's statement that Russia had "lost control" of its diesel industry due to Ukrainian attacks. The Times of India and Daily Mail highlighted Trump's assertion of an "oil crisis" and his call for an end to the "ridiculous" Ukraine war. Interfax.ru and dagelijksestandaard.nl, citing the Financial Times, also reported Trump's request to Zelensky to stop attacking Russian refineries due to fears of exacerbating global diesel shortages and price increases.

Questions about this coverage

How did the left and right cover Trump asked Zelensky to stop attacks on Russian refineries?
Of the 6 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 0% are rated left, 33% are rated centre, 67% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 16. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
Is Trump asked Zelensky to stop attacks on Russian refineries left or right?
Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 6 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
Is the coverage of Trump asked Zelensky to stop attacks on Russian refineries biased?
Trump asked Zelensky to stop attacks on Russian refineries is one event reported by 16 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
Which side is not reporting Trump asked Zelensky to stop attacks on Russian refineries?
When we first saw this story, outlets rated left had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
Which outlets covered Trump asked Zelensky to stop attacks on Russian refineries?
16 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
Why did Donald Trump call Volodymyr Zelensky?
Donald Trump called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to urge him to stop drone and missile attacks on Russian oil refineries. He expressed concerns that these attacks are worsening global diesel shortages and driving up prices.
What did Trump say about Russia's oil industry?
According to the Daily Mail, Trump stated on Truth Social that Russia had "lost control" of its diesel industry due to Ukrainian attacks. He also called for an end to the war, claiming significant monthly casualties.
What is Russia's refining capacity?
The International Energy Agency estimates that Russia has approximately 6.5 million barrels per day of refining capacity. Russian refinery throughput has reportedly been reduced by almost 30 per cent year-on-year due to strikes.

Read it at the source

16 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.

Left

0

No outlet in this group ran the story.

Centre

2

Right

4

Not rated

10
Show 2 more

How did this read?

About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.

Trump-Zelensky call on Russian refineries | MediaBias News